Rise of the Argentine Empire

General Thomas specifically notified San Jose through the Falcon Intelligence Agency not to visit the capital recently.

"It seems the final moment has arrived. I just don't know who, between the weakened Church, the military, and Peron, will truly have the last laugh."

San Jose had already learned of the movements through intelligence from several key cities including Cordoba, San Martin, Rosario, and La Plata.

San Jose was engaged in large-scale construction in the coastal industrial zone, including factories and more high-end facilities reserved for these research institutions.

The environment would be much better than before.

And they could be heavily guarded.

The powder keg that had been brewing for a summer was about to explode.

......

Time was approaching May of '54, and the weather had already turned to autumn.

Argentine agriculture welcomed the autumn harvest of the year. The entire country once again experienced a bumper harvest, with increased production of both grain and beef.

As the new grain entered the market, grain prices began to fall. San Jose took the opportunity to utilize Prallari Foods and Future Agriculture to establish the Bahia Blanca Grain Company, quietly purchasing and stockpiling grain.

Weekend at San Jose's residence:

"This year, our country has a bumper grain harvest, and the British are in turn lowering export prices. I want you to buy up most of the grain on the market; don't let the British profit easily."

San Jose stood in the vegetable garden of his own yard, speaking to the people in charge of the grain company.

This vegetable garden, covering nearly 300 square meters, was originally a flower garden. In order to allow Elena to eat fresh vegetables, he adhered to the idea of self-sufficiency.

Some time ago, he had someone shovel away all the flowers and forcibly created a vegetable garden.

The vegetable garden was now planted with lettuce, bok choy, romaine lettuce, cowpea, eggplant, cucumber, cabbage, radish, and other seasonal vegetables.

Some of the seeds were specifically obtained from the elderly Chinese man in Cordoba, Old Chen.

He had just added a handful of soil to the newly planted snow peas and was watering them with a spoon.

The heads of the grain reserve company looked at the skilled mayor and boss with bewildered expressions, listening to his speech and procurement plan.

"Fifty giant granaries across the country are ready. If you can fill these granaries, you will have made a great contribution, and your salaries will be generous."

Old Chen's vegetable growing business has expanded a lot, especially after his youngest son and second son came from Peru. With San Jose's help, they also established their own professional vegetable farm.

Not only did they supply a large number of vegetables to the two cities of San Martin and Cordoba, but they were also able to sell to other places.

San Jose also invited them to Bahia Blanca to grow vegetables and expand their business, but because winter was approaching and things were busy in Cordoba, they planned to come over in the spring.

He planned to have someone enclose the vegetable garden and build a greenhouse to provide enough fresh vegetables for his second winter in Bahia Blanca.

Last year, he had suffered enough of the winter in Bahia Blanca. It couldn't compare to the big cities, and it was really impossible to find any green leafy vegetables, making him often suspect that he was deficient in vitamins.

Moreover, eating too much beef can really be tiring and cause toothaches. Under his influence, Elena also began to balance her diet with meat and vegetables.

After dismissing the people from the grain company, San Jose picked a pile of lettuce, intending to make a simple meal, stir-fry some greens, and make a soup.

Purchasing domestic new grain was his work task for the Bahia Blanca Grain Company.

Argentina, because of its international orders with the British, lowered grain and beef prices.

This led to warehouses in Bahia Blanca, a wheat and beef export port, being piled high last year. Before San Jose arrived, Bahia Blanca had a lot of grain and beef.

After San Jose took office, he completely depleted all these inventories and placed a batch of new orders, turning all the beef into canned beef and other beef products, which were either sold or stored.

Most of the grain was used to fill the various warehouses of Prallari Foods.

Argentina has a vast territory and a sparse population. Although agricultural production technology is generally average, and even crop rotation is practiced, the land is fertile and the arable area is very large.

Therefore, the annual grain production is also high, but there is no habit of storing grain, which greatly facilitated San Jose's purchase of various grains.

Many large granaries were built in the coastal industrial zone. At that time, helping the three major families of Bahia Blanca and local grain merchants clear their inventories was just a matter of storing their wheat in a different place.

In 1950 and 1951, Argentina also suffered from drought and small-scale lasers, and in turn imported grain from Brazil, which was quite outrageous.

As for why he didn't buy it before and is doing it this year, in addition to coping with the expected large population growth in Bahia Blanca, there is also the fact that having grain in hand means peace of mind, and preventing problems before they occur.

In addition, San Jose now has sufficient cash reserves. In addition to investing in other industries to prevent too much devaluation.

Grain is also a ballast stone, and now there is so much land in Bahia Blanca, it is also convenient to build grain warehouses.

Moreover, full opening to the outside world has arrived, and fluctuations in housing prices are very likely. Although the Americans will not reverse export grain, judging from the three major grain merchants now entering Argentina, this has to be guarded against.

The future farms and ranches of Sunshine Agriculture also ushered in a harvest season, with frequent good news, from the tobacco and wheat in the Potassium Triangle to the cotton in the Chaco Plain, and the rice in the Colorado River, all were fruitful.

When the rice was harvested, San Jose specifically brought along the radical party members from the beginning.

They experienced the joy of rice harvesting.

After threshing, San Jose took 200 pounds himself.

The rest of the new rice was also distributed to them.

These rice are ordinary seeds.

From Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia, even with the addition of fertilizer, the yield is not high, but the taste is still good, much better than ordinary Argentine rice.

Facts have proved that southern Argentina can completely grow rice.

Let Sunshine Agriculture continue to expand the rice planting scale in the spring, and the water network has now begun to be built.

San Jose plans to expand the rice planting area to the level of 5,000 acres, which is basically the limit, and most of it will still be planted with wheat.

This is still based on the ability to introduce foreign immigrants.

Growing rice requires a lot of people to cooperate, especially hard work, especially without rice transplanters, and now there are no rice harvesters.

Currently, there are not only no people, but also no mechanization. The technology is also not good.

With the current R\u0026D level of Rhein Shield tractors, it is still temporarily unreachable, but fortunately there is Kubota, a Japanese agricultural machinery company, to help.

Through joint research and development, spending money and effort, it will be possible to truly carry out mechanized planting and large-scale rice planting.

The large and small farms of Sunshine Agriculture have ushered in a harvest, not affected by the internal strife, scattered in northern Argentina and the Pampas grasslands.

The output of these farms is actually good, mainly planting wheat and cotton, and indoor cattle raising.

With cotton, it can supply the Blue Cloud Textile General Factory and reduce imports.

Also, the pregnant women on the farms have begun to have babies one after another. San Jose has hired some obstetricians and gynecologists at high prices for each farm to be stationed in the villages. The level may be average, but it is basically enough.

With the brand of the Southern University School of Medicine, the future medical system of Bahia Blanca can be expected to be improved.

It's just that the training time for medical students is long. The fastest way is to establish pharmaceutical production companies and conduct research and production of antibiotics.

Argentina's biochemical and pharmaceutical industry is not very good, which is also a long-term project.

San Jose's plan is to find some companies to cultivate.

Also, there's the reliance on Maya Chemical's research and development capabilities. We need to strengthen cooperation with Southern University, and when the conditions are right, establish our own pharmaceutical company.

Although Maya Chemical has already started producing some basic pesticides, it seems a bit odd to then go and research pharmaceuticals.

Maya brand nitrogen fertilizer, mostly ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, ammonium bicarbonate, and ammonia water, are all good quality and inexpensive.

On land with average fertility, a 50-kilogram bag of fertilizer can be used for 1 acre.

This greatly increased the farm's yield, even achieving a two to threefold increase in production.

This year, the output and quality of the Andes Cigarette Factory have greatly improved. In addition to the expansion of the planting area, the ample use of fertilizer is also an important reason.

Besides fertilizer, mechanized production is also an important reason for the farm to increase its output in the future. If we rely entirely on manpower, it is estimated that we won't be able to manage so much land.

Leidun brand tractors and Leidun brand cargo tricycles have become good helpers for Argentine farmers in doing farm work, but the price is a bit expensive.

The only pity is that compared to the hundreds of millions of acres of land in the country, the 500,000 tons of fertilizer produced by Maya Chemical each year is too little, not even enough to fill a gap between the teeth.

Therefore, the scale of Maya Chemical's Blanca Fertilizer Plant should be expanded more than 2 times that of the San Martin Plant, and the cost should be reduced even more.

At the dinner table, Saint-Hesse and Elena ate and chatted.

"I didn't expect that Maya Fertilizer already has a three-year history, and it has been in production for almost two years."

Saint-Hesse said with some emotion.

Saint-Hesse remembered that he had smashed more than 5 million US dollars in Maria Town back then,

just to build a fertilizer plant, which was really crazy, at least more crazy than building the La Plata Steel Plant.

"Fertilizer really plays a big role, Cohen, you have done a good thing."

Elena knows about this fertilizer plant, but she only knows a part of Saint-Hesse's industry.

"Cohen, what really surprised me is that you have already become the mayor, it feels like a dream,"

Elena looked at Saint-Hesse speechlessly, she only found out about this yesterday.

Saint-Hesse doesn't tell her much about things, after all, the risk is quite high.

Although there is no such thing as postpartum confinement in foreign countries, Elena doesn't go out much, and only hears some news sporadically.

She thought her boyfriend would become a lawyer at first.

"This is also unavoidable. No one else wants to do it, and I just happened to be pushed up there."

Saint-Hesse scratched his head, revealing a simple and honest smile, and said no more about it.

He held his wife's hand tightly.

In the beginning, building a fertilizer plant was somewhat impulsive, but fortunately, he didn't just import equipment to produce fertilizer.

He also cultivated a professional engineering construction team during the construction, and the machinery factory also explored and became familiar with fertilizer plant construction. Finally, he created Rhein Military Industry and Leidun Industry, which was not a loss of tuition fees.

After having his own special steel plant in the future, he can even build his own fertilizer plant in the future.

Compared to the synthetic ammonia in San Martin, this second fertilizer plant, which is a urea + synthetic ammonia combined fertilizer plant, will completely take over the nitrogen fertilizer technology.

Besides fertilizer, mechanized production is also an important reason for the farm to increase its output in the future. If we rely entirely on manpower, it is estimated that we won't be able to manage so much land.

Leidun brand tractors and Leidun brand cargo tricycles have become good helpers for Argentine farmers in doing farm work, but the price is a bit expensive.

Leidun Industry's production costs remain high. The first generation of products is also a patchwork: American technology and equipment for tractors, Japanese and German technology and equipment for motorcycles, plus some German technicians, which is really impressive.

It's just that when the final accounting is done, the price is very expensive, so they can only sell the products to Sunshine Agriculture at a low price. They are now debugging and producing cheaper second-generation tractors and motorcycles.

In addition to some necessary preparations, Saint-Hesse is also preparing to reserve some important materials before the arrival of winter.

Hans Steel Plant laid the first pillar,

The foundation of the Blanca Fertilizer Plant has been built,

Rhein Military Industry moved a cannon production line to adapt it to naval guns.

Three Seas Shipyard began to repair the second warship.

The Blanca City Police Department expanded its recruitment by 200 police officers.

The exploration department of Thunder Mining discovered copper and tungsten mines in Argentina, and also discovered a low-quality coal mine in Salta Province.

The Uruguay Grand Iron Mine has begun to ship iron ore.

The export sales volume of Rhein Military Industry began to shrink, especially in the Nanyang market. Saint-Hesse also began to supply Chile, Peru, and Colombia.

Some small markets have also been opened up in Africa, but they are basically not large.

The export of Rhein Military Industry, especially the export of firearms, has begun to collapse in foreign markets under the suppression of the Americans, and can only barely survive domestically.

After all, this thing has begun to flood.

This once again proves that in the case of insufficient national strength, reselling arms can only make quick money.

Currently, most of Rhein Military Industry's sales, 95%, come from 3 guns, a combination.

One is the MP40 submachine gun, the other is the MG-52 assault rifle, and the other is the P51 pistol.

It is quite difficult to be able to sell it to this extent, and it is still thanks to the war.

After the production lines of these 3 guns reach their limit, they will eventually stabilize to a certain level and reach a balance.

The technology is completely mature, but the market is so big.

The military industry can really be regarded as not opening for three years, but eating for three years. The development time of Rhein Military Industry is exactly three years.

Unless it is like the Soviet Union, where the country is kidnapped by the military industry, constantly increasing the budget, and producing non-stop every year.

Or like the United States, a military-industrial complex that launches wars abroad.

Saint-Hesse knows in his heart that the military industry cannot be eaten, but it has to be developed.

Now the research and development of tank cars is also spending a lot of money, and there is still no good news coming, which is also a big pit that was entered with a pat on the head.

But it cannot be abandoned, some seeds must be retained for Argentina.

The same is true for the San Martin Aircraft Factory. If it is abandoned, it will not be picked up in the future.

Argentina has invested so much money in this fighter project, and it is a pity that it has not produced results.

Saint-Hesse's determination is also known to Dr. Tank. His meaning is that the fighter jet will definitely be successfully developed in the future, and money will continue to be invested.

The most money-burning thing is actually the Institute of Nuclear Physics. Saint-Hesse can only go in the direction of uranium purification research and development. Building an atomic bomb requires the power of the entire country to promote it.

He hopes to keep the Atomic Energy Agency when Peron falls, that's all.

Now there is indeed not enough financial resources and not enough talents. If fighter jets are to produce results, it may take another 15 million US dollars to invest.

So much money can build 5 large fertilizer plants. Saint-Hesse can only help them breathe a sigh of relief.

Even more investment is needed in the Atomic Energy Agency than in the United States. In Argentina now, it can only be done theoretically.

There is also progress in the San Martin Aircraft Design Institute. At least the wages will not be reduced, and the air force cooperation will not be reduced.

With the help of General Thompson at the beginning, the Ministry of Defense was willing to transfer equipment from the Argentine Military Aircraft Factory and give certain support.

Now there is mass production of stainless steel, which still saves a lot of money.

Now we are waiting for the research and development and mass production of more excellent steel alloys and other metal alloys from the special steel plant.

The establishment of the Blanca City Nonferrous Metal Smelting Plant and Steel Plant one after another, and the Metal Laboratory has also been moved here.

Various alloys that are resistant to high pressure, high temperature, low temperature, and wear resistance, as long as they are successful, are of great significance to fertilizer plants, tank factories, shipyards, aircraft factories, and diesel engine factories.

The various metal mineral raw materials arranged by Thunder Mining also help.